Awkward Moments
by ZigzagoonCutie
Summary: Norman and Caroline head to Kanto for a parent meeting, but the two of them end up fighting... When Norman doesn't have a place to go, who will take him in? WidowsPeakShipping!


**A/N: This is the first WidowsPeakShipping story out there… I think… and I'm proud to have written this. I hope you enjoy it!**

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Professor Oak, the "World's Greatest Pokémon Professor", had decided that the Dexholders did not tell their parents enough about what they were doing. Professor Oak had sent them away, my son included, on the long project that was filling the PokéDex.

I knew my son would be fine, as he had traveled the Hoenn region all by himself, and he was a strong boy, but apparently Caroline was worried. She didn't think he would be able to take care of himself. Her and the other worried parents are why we had to attend this stupid meeting.

"As you all know," the Professor's gravelly voice said through the phone, "your son is on a very important mission, filling the PokéDex." I sighed, yes, we did know. We've known for the past two weeks. "This is a task that is only given to the best of the best, and it is a goal I would like to see completed in my lifetime." I tried drowning him out with my thoughts, but he seemed to realize this, and talked louder.

"This mission is not dangerous—" Yeah right! "—to your children at all. They have all the skills required to be safe and efficient. In fact, I think your children could be home by the end of the year!" He chirped cheerfully. My wife gasped at this, pushing me out of the way so she was taking up the whole screen.

"The end of the year!" she screeched, horrified. I sighed. Of course it would take a long time; there are more than seven-hundred Pokémon now.

"So please attend a meeting at my laboratory in Pallet Town this Sunday at three P.M." The video disappeared. I assumed he sent the pre-recorded message to us as an invitation, and I was right. I sighed again. Caroline is probably going to demand we go.

"Honey, come on, that's tomorrow afternoon!" she said, gathering her belongings. 'Well, yeah, three P.M. generally is considered afternoon.' I almost spat. What, did she think I was stupid? "We need to take a plane today! Hey, Norman, are you listening to me?"

"Of course I am." I went upstairs to pack some of my belongings; she'll probably want to stay a couple of days to go sight-seeing.

"Pack for a couple of days, dear! I want to go sight-seeing." I called that one too. When I came downstairs again, she was on the phone, booking a flight to the Kanto region. I grumbled angrily that it would cost less to take a Pokémon, but she ignored me and went ahead making the reservation for the flight.

I waited patiently until she got off the phone. "Our flight leaves at one, so we'd better head to the airport." I followed her orders and gathered our things, sending out one of my Vigaroth to help me carry all of the bags. With this much stuff, I think we could just move into Kanto. I was half tempted to call Wally and get my Flygon back, because I did not want to walk to the airport.

"Let's get going," Caroline said, going ahead and walking in front of me, without any bags or extra weight. I grumbled and followed behind her. Is this how all women are? Are they all annoying, self-centered, and all around bitches? I bet all the expenses of this trip that _I_ don't even want to go on, will come out of _my_ pocket.

We reached the airport, and surprise, surprise; I had to pay for the tickets and the baggage. I made my way to the first-class seats, and slumped in the seat I was assigned. My wife gave me a glare. "Honey," she said in a pseudo-sweet voice, "We only got one first class ticket." It was my turn to glare at her.

"Who paid for the ticket?" I asked, mocking her own, "sweet" voice. She huffed.

"Well, I think I should sit here, I am a woman you know!" That was her excuse? If she thinks she can take this seat, just because she is a woman, she better think again. I used my famous glare on her.

"Well then maybe you should start acting like one, and stop acting like a bitch." That sure shut her up. It was then she and I both realized people were staring. She awkwardly headed to the middle-class seating, but not before throwing her own glare at me. I almost laughed, but I didn't.

The rest of the plane ride went pretty smoothly after that. We were on the plane until two in the morning, with no connecting flights. We would have made it sooner, if there hadn't have been a huge snow storm over Blackthorn City. I was one of the first people off the plane; instead of waiting for my wife right off the plane, I went ahead and collected our baggage.

"There you are! I was looking for you!" Caroline said. I just shrugged. The fights between us were becoming more common, and I was staying irritated for longer after these fights. She kept chattering about who she sat by, and what she did, but I just ignored her and started walking away.

"You booked the hotel, right?" she asked. I shook my head. "Then where are we going to stay if we can't find one?" I shrugged and headed out to find a hotel. I was exhausted, and ready to pass out, while she seemed chipper and full of energy.

"Stop ignoring me!" I heard Caroline's exasperated voice from behind me. "You know what, I'm done putting up with your shit, Norman!" I walked into the hotel, and she pushed in front of me.

"Hello, what can I do for you today?" asked a clerk standing at the front counter. My wife asked if they had any rooms available, and to me relief, they had one. I was about to pull out my wallet, when she pulled out hers. I thought something was up by that point.

"Well, I'll see you in the morning Norman," my wife said, with a haughty tone. I stared at her in disbelief. She was taking the room to herself!? She turned and walked away.

"That bitch!" I growled, before I turned and left. After checking all the hotels in the area and finding out there is a celebration of some sort this weekend on Cinnabar Island, I decided to leave Pallet Town and head north.

After an hour of walking, I wondered if there was even a point to all of this walking. Why didn't I just book a flight home, and stay at the airport. I was so lost and confused. I sighed, with all of this traveling and such, I felt like I was a young boy again, fresh on the road to a new journey. I chuckled at my thoughts.

I reached Viridian City soon after, and by that point, I was fine camping out somewhere. I decided, just in case, to check the hotels, and to my horror, they were all booked. I grumbled to myself and was just about to exit the city, and head into the forest when I heard a voice.

"You need somewhere to stay?" asked a definitely male voice. I turned in the direction to see a man standing there. I squinted, and he stepped out of the shadows. This man had to have been at least 6'5", because he was taller than me! I didn't know if I should trust this guy, especially since he seemed intimidating… though it would be nice to have somewhere to stay, and I am a grown man who can take care of myself…

"Yes," I said, "Do you know a place?" He nodded and gestured me to come in… so I did, though wearily. "Do you live here?" I asked.

"Yes, by myself," he said. I felt a little less on edge after I climbed up the stairs to his house. For having so many stairs, this is a small place, and definitely not somewhere where someone could get attacked by a gang of men at once, unless of course, they are midgets who stack themselves on top of each other… Wait, why am I thinking of such weird things?

The man led me down a hall… I pondered, and my strange thoughts filled my head again. I realized it was probably due to it being so late—wait, why is this guy still up? My nervousness increased tenfold, especially since his house was dark… Who knows what's hiding in these doors! He opened a door and I could feel my palms start sweating.

"You can sleep in here." With that he turned and left. I crept in slowly, and peered around, looking for anything that might be hidden in here. I found the light switch, and the moment I flipped it, the room was bathed in bright, and I do mean bright light. I heard a chuckle from behind me, and I whipped around.

"Sorry, I forgot to warn you. The lights are really bright." I grunted in agreement, still shielding my eyes. I could barely even open them. Suddenly a large shadow was in front of me blocking out the light. I opened my eyes, but just a little bit, when I felt a hand under my chin, forcing my head up.

"You have red eyes," the man murmured, almost lovingly. I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. I tried to turn my head away, but he held it in place. "Do you have a son?" I gasped. Did he know Ruby?

"Yes." I said backing out of his reach. The man nodded, and then asked if he was a Dexholder. He did know Ruby! I once again replied with a "yes".

"Then you should know who I am." I was confused by this. "Then again, you should know who I am anyway." He laughed.

"Actually, I don't." He looked surprised.

"You don't know who I am?" I shook my head. "Didn't your son tell you? He is the one who took me down after all." I was now more confused than ever. Ruby never told me anything about this guy, and I don't even remember seeing him.

"I have no idea who you are, and Ruby never told me anything about you." Now it was the other man's turn to be confused.

"Who's Ruby?"

"My son…"

"Oh… I thought you were Red's father…" There was an awkward silence. We both looked around the room, and did everything but meet each other's eyes.

"When you said that you were taken down by a Dexholder, I am assuming Red, does that mean…?" I trailed off after my awkward attempt to end an awkward silence. I didn't know how to word it nicely. If Red, or whoever, took him down, doesn't that mean he is a bad guy?

"Does that mean what?" questioned the man. I sighed, may as well finish what I started.

"Does that mean you are… a, um," I couldn't think of a word that wouldn't sound childish like using "bad guy", "a—wait, you're Giovanni!" I exclaimed. I knew he looked familiar! Giovanni was an amazing gym leader. In fact, I always thought he was really cool. But he ended up being head of a terrorist organization.

"Yes, I am Giovanni, and no, I am not 'evil' anymore." I waited for him to finish, maybe tell about how or why he changed his ways, but that didn't come, and we were plunged into another awkward silence.

"Oh, well, I'm Norman, a gym leader in the Hoenn region," I said, still feeling awkward.

"I know. Did you think I invited random strangers into my house?" Giovanni laughed again, and I felt embarrassed and stupid. Usually I was the one in Giovanni's place, making other people want to hurl themselves off a bridge, or have the ground suck them up, but no. The positions were switched.

"I guess not…" It was really late, and I yawned. "I think I'm going to sleep." Yes, savior from the awkwardness!

"Okay," Giovanni said, heading towards the door. The door closed, and then the room plunged into darkness… in that order.

"Wha—" I felt the bed dip next to me… and I was really too tired to care. Besides, the bed was too comfy, and I didn't want kicked out. So, with another yawn, I fell asleep.

XxX

I woke up feeling warm, something I wasn't used to, comfy, something I, once again, wasn't used to, and safe—where did that come from. I started to move, you know, get up and get ready, but I couldn't. There was an arm wrapped too tightly around my waist. Someone—Giovanni—was spooning me. My face heated up. Once again, here is another awkward moment with this man.

I struggled, but it was no use. Just as I was about to give up, I heard him laugh. I spun around, startled more than anything, and was about to demand him to let me go.

"Good morning," Giovanni said in a tone that suggested he has been up way longer than I have. I growled. "Did you sleep well?" The retort I had in mind flew out of my head when I realized how close we were. My face was probably as red as a tomato.

"I-I, what, y-you, ugh, uh, GET OFF!" I finally roared after all of my sputtering. He just chuckled and released me. He started laughing like it was the funniest thing ever, while I regained my calm composure.

After finishing my morning routine, I checked the time. It was four P.M.; I was late. I was never late! "Um, thanks for letting me stay here, but I really have to go," I told Giovanni. He shook his head.

"My pleasure, and besides, my son is a Dexholder too." I was surprised. I didn't know he had a son. I shook off my confusion.

"We have to go _now_," I demanded, hurrying outside. I walked quickly out the door, and was going to turn around and make sure he wasn't left behind, when I slipped. I fell down at least two flights of stairs and landed on my bottom, and it hurt, bad.

"Are you okay?" asked Giovanni, he had a slightly mischievous grin on his face, and he was trying to cover his mouth and look 'concerned'. I shot a glare at him, and he backed away slightly. "The stairs get icy in the morning," he explained. I sighed and stood.

It hurt, and I was reduced to limping slightly. He sent out a flying Pokémon, and we used that as our mode of transportation. We arrived at the laboratory probably only an _hour and a half_ late. We walked in and all eyes were on us.

"Uh, surprise~!" Sapphire sang! She looked slightly confused as did everyone else. I blinked. Wasn't this supposed to be a parent meeting… unless…

"We wanted to throw a party for Professor Oak's birthday," one parent explained. I nodded… another really awkward moment—and guess whose fault it is. I saw an empty seat over near Caroline and Ruby, two actually. I just wanted people to stop staring at us, so I took a seat next to my son, limping my way over.

"Oh Norman, what happened!" Caroline exclaimed, "You're limping!" Everyone turned to stare, and a yellow-eyed boy started looking between me and Giovanni. My eyes widened. He didn't think we—

"Oh my god! Silver, you and Ruby's dads have been screwing!"

"No, we didn't!" I yelled. I sighed, I was probably blushing, "and I fell down the stairs."

"As if we hadn't heard that excuse enough," a brunette with blue eyes said, "Green uses it at least once every couple of weeks." Now a male brunette spoke up.

"It's the truth! Those stairs get so icy in the morning!"

"It doesn't even snow or rain often in Viridian, it's just cold, how could your stairs get wet enough to get icy." I began to think, how could the stairs get so icy? It didn't rain or snow last night and there was a decent layer of ice on the stairs…

"I don't know, but in the morning, my stairs are icy!" the brunette hollered, embarrassed.

"Sure, but," the female brunette said, "only when Red is over." Several of the teenagers just couldn't stop laughing at the brunette's misery, but some of the parents looked horrified and disgusted.

"Dad, did you really—" I cut my son off.

"I fell down the stairs this morning, and that is _it_." I growled out. He didn't seem to believe it, but I just brushed it off. The rest of the party went smoothly, even with Giovanni, the creator of awkward moments, sitting next to me.

After the party, everyone started to leave. Just as I started to follow my son out, my arm was tugged harshly and I was yanked back. I string of curses formed in my mouth, but just before I could say anything, Giovanni uncapped his pen, and wrote a phone number on my arm. I sputtered, not knowing what to say, and he walked out with a grin.

"Hey, I'm not a fourteen-year-old school girl!" I yelled after him, but he just waved me off.

"I'll always be available when your wife is bothering you." Was all he said. A blush formed on my face, but I decided to ignore it, and find Ruby and Caroline. They were saying their goodbyes to each other. Ruby came up to me.

"Bye dad, I love you," I smiled.

"I love you too," I said, hugging him. He headed over to Sapphire and her Tropius, and waved to me. I waved back.

"Don't have too much fun with your new boyfriend!" he yelled. I growled. I didn't even bother saying anything back, and I just turned to my wife.

"Oh, no, don't even try to lie to me. I've never seen you blush. The moment we get home, I'm filing for a divorce." If she wasn't absolutely pissed right now, I probably would have told her that I would love for her to do that. Instead, I just nodded, and walked towards Giovanni's house. I left my stuff there after all…

EXTRA:

I giggled like crazy. I had woken up at five in the morning, like every morning, and turned my hose on cold. I started soaking everyone's steps I could reach with my hose. After I was done, I would use someone else's hose, and soon every house had perfectly icy stairs.

I was as happy as I could be as I took my coat, mittens, hat, and scarf off, but I was cold. I snuck back into my bedroom, and pulled Norman close to me. He may not know it now, but in a few months, when he's mine of course, he'll be helping me with my morning routine.


End file.
